


Family Portrait

by JasnNCarly



Category: One Life to Live
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-12
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2019-06-13 18:03:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15370245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: Destiny and Matthew try to become friends again while parenting Drew.





	Family Portrait

**Family Portrait**  
  
“Thank you, Lord Jesus, it worked!”  
  
Matthew lips formed a tired smile at her excited whisper; pulling the car to a stop, he watched as she sunk into the cushions of the passenger seat.  
  
Car rides with mom and dad seemed to be the only thing soothing Drew over the past week, giving them a moment to settle into their buzzing thoughts.   
  
For Matthew, at moments like this, he almost preferred his son’s wailing to his nagging thoughts.  
  
Their baby boy had been ruling the world around him for about four weeks now, leaving little time to allow his father to work through the mess he had made. Though he spent most of his free time catching a few moments of sleep on the Evan’s sofa, the rest of his time had been divided between school make up – recovery – and watching his son evolve in his tiny spirit.   
  
Not one second, even when in a room with her, did Matthew have the courage or time to ask her where they were in their relationship…or if she could really stand the sight of him.  
  
Destiny attempted more small talk with him, more avoidance, “I don’t remember what sleep is. I mean really restful, nothing else on your mind, kinda sleep. Did I ever have that?”   
  
“I’m not sure I know. Your mind always seems to be working, you know?” Matthew accepted her small smile of response, caught her adoring gaze at Drew, and made a quiet suggestion, “You want to get some air?”  
  
“I’m not leaving, Drew.”  
  
“Please, Des, I meant stand very closely outside of the car.” Matthew saw her narrowed eyes but still signaled with the throw of his head, “Come on.”  
  
Destiny undid her seat belt and followed his gentle order, stepping outside of the car and enjoying the quiet stillness around them; Matthew noted their distance, both maintaining space on their sides of the vehicle, yet tried to convince himself to talk.  
  
As her head tilted back, her ebony eyes taking in the bright and full moon, he decided the continued silence between them had to stop, “I never said thank you for letting me have a chance to be a part of Drew’s life.”  
  
Grinning, her eyes now sparkled with the moonlight, “Yeah, well, I figured you had a small part in his being here so, you know...”  
  
 _Please, stop joking._  His eyes must have conveyed his mental protest because she uncomfortably looked away, “…I know I messed up, Des. You don’t have to act like it never happened.”  
  
“There’s no point in talking about it right now.”  
  
“Then when? When our son goes to college?”   
  
“Did you bring me out here to argue?”  
  
“No, but I would like it if we could finally be honest with each other!”  
  
“Fine, you want me to be honest?” Destiny stomped around to his side of the car, catching him slightly off guard; with his back pressed to the car, she stuck up an accusing index finger, “You have abandoned me more times than I can count throughout my entire pregnancy, and then you almost missed out Drew coming into the world!”  
  
“Half of that wasn’t my fault, and the other half—”  
  
“I have been back and forth with you with every time you think you need ‘something’ else to make your world better, better than I ever could!”  
  
“That is not what happened and you know it!”  
  
“I’ve been there, the best friend you could ever have, through everything, and you woke up to act like I did  **something**   _to_   **you**! Meanwhile, I had to figure out how I was going to be mom and—a woman dealing with everything that happened between us with no help from you! So I am sorry if I have no time, outside of few precious moments, to deal with you and  **your**  feelings!”  
  
“But do you still want me around?” His question caused her to whip back in disbelief. Raising his hands to signal for just a moment of her attention, Matthew spoke with a tone weakened by his fear of rejection, “Before we knew about Drew, before my coma, this—I wanted this.  _Us_. And I was begging you to trust me enough to give me that chance. When I woke up, when I found out about our baby, yeah…I freaked out. It was the worst thing I could possibly do, and I’m sorry. Truly sorry for everything.”  
  
Destiny crossed her arms, trying desperately to avoid the sincerity of his stare.  
  
“Please, Des, I just need you to tell me that you forgive me this one last time. That you know I regret what I’ve done, but you and Drew are my whole world.” Matthew’s eyes grew misty at the proclamation causing a few of her tears to fall, her last protest against his honesty, “I wouldn’t give that up, trade, either of you for anything in this world. That’s the truth.”  
  
“You can’t make promises you aren’t prepared to keep, Matthew, so just—stop while you’re ahead.”  
  
“No, because I’ll say or do whatever it takes to make you believe me.” He extended his hands to her, locking their stare, “Just give me a chance. I know it’ll take time, and we’ve—gotta lot to work through.”  
  
Destiny took a moment, bouncing her eyes between his gaze and palms, then stepped forward to slip her hands within his. Lacing their fingers, another glance towards Drew, she gave a slow nod to his relief; but before he could get to comfortable, Destiny lifted one of their joined hands to stick her finger back in his face, “If you blow this, I can’t be held responsible for what I do.”  
  
“I won’t.” Matthew used their joined hands to force her to hug his waist, staring down at her with a quiet assurance, “I promise I’ll make this right.”  
  
After a brief moment of hesitation, Destiny’s body fell to a comfortable rest against him – allowing him to feel complete once more.


End file.
